Express Lanes construction to bring more detours in Va.

WASHINGTON – More detours and shutdowns are planned as part of the Interstate 95 Express Lanes project, and drivers should be prepared for their commutes to get worse before they get better.

Starting March 27, the Telegraph Road bridge over I-95 near Quantico will be closed. It will be removed so a new one can be built to accommodate the new Express lanes over the next nine months, if the weather cooperates.

There will be detours to Russel Road.

The demolition at times will shut down some lanes on both northbound and southbound I-95 in the overnight hours.

Virginia Department of Transportation spokesman Steve Titunic says it’s one of many such traffic changes over the next year that will occur as the new lanes are constructed.

“Right now we don’t see the kind of heavy duty, plural 95 closures as we saw in Springfield or the Wilson Bridge,” says Titunik, referring to two recent construction projects that created commuter headaches.

The full 29 miles of the I-95 Express Lanes, which will require an E-ZPass to pay the tolls, are scheduled to open in late 2014.

Jersey walls and other construction that have narrowed the existing High Occupancy Vehicle lanes have already slowed down traffic in some areas.

Read more about the time table and detours expected over the course of the construction project: 95 Express Lanes.